


Delusions Disregarded

by SilverTonguedSlytherin1



Series: Letters to and from an International Fugitive [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: BAMF Pepper Potts, Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23931169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverTonguedSlytherin1/pseuds/SilverTonguedSlytherin1
Summary: Tony might be content to ignore Rogers' response, but Pepper can't stand the illogic.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Letters to and from an International Fugitive [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710490
Comments: 44
Kudos: 940
Collections: Tony Stark Defense Squad I





	Delusions Disregarded

**Author's Note:**

> As noted in the tags, this fic is on Tony's side and against Rogers. If you prefer the reverse, please save yourself the aggravation. Also, know that the comments are moderated. If you comment just to troll my readers or this fic, your comment will not be published. Thank you for understanding.

Tony stares at Rogers' letter. He's not sure if he wants to laugh, puke, or hit something. He decides to do the first because the latter two would worry the Bots and Fri. Besides, the Spiderling has a three-day weekend starting tomorrow, so he's coming up to the Compound, and Tony really doesn't want to explain why there's vomit or blood to the kid.

He turns back to his plans. Tony had originally wanted to use Vibranium for his sternum and ribcage, but it turned out that Starkanium was better suited to the job. Then he was going to ask Professor Xavier to help develop a way to prevent telepathic attacks, but they didn't need to do so. 

As it turns out, Dr. Strange, a neurosurgeon who used to run in similar circles to Tony before his "death," is not exactly dead. After his accident, he spiralled downward. Most figured he had found a hole and killed himself or else wasted away. Apparently, that is close to what almost happened, but Dr. Strange had instead found himself in Nepal learning magic. He had made protection charms for Tony and his friends, for the trade of Tony making braces for someone called Pangborn. It was inarguably the quickest negotiation Tony had ever been part of, and it had started off a friendly relationhip between the pair.

Now, however, Tony has twelve pounds of Vibranium and no idea what to do with it. He won't give it to Wakanda. Rogers is there, and Tony won't be complicit in arming him, but also, T'Challa left Tony to die too, so Tony isn't exactly willing to do him any favors. 

That leaves a few ideas but not enough. Tony can't really involve it in any inventions since he has such a limited quantity. The invention would have to be a one-off, and Tony prefers to stay away from that sort of thing. It needs to be involved in something that Wakanda can not steal or destroy easily to get back "their property." That reason was part of why Tony had wanted it in his chest; the only way to get it would be to kill him. 

He could always make something for Peggy Carter's gravestone. He may not be close to the Carter family, but they would appreciate the "show" of Howard Stark's son memorializing Peggy Carter. Also, it would make Rogers hesitate before saying anything, and he would react poorly if Wakanda did anything to it. On the other hand, however, Peggy Carter had been involved in covering up his parents' murder, and Tony couldn't bring himself to honor her.

At this point, Tony is almost ready to reissue all Stark ID passes with a Vibranium-foil something on them. He hates to waste a natural resource, of course, but some times, you have to be petty to heal. 

He pushes aside the thoughts of Vibranium, however, when FRIDAY says, "Boss-lady is requesting entry, Boss."

"Let her in, baby girl."

"Sure thing," she says as she opens the door. 

Tony grins, "Pepper, light of my life, what can I do for you?"

"We've got a few requests for new armor for the military and one for consultation on a new jet for the Air Force that I think you should make the choices about. And FRIDAY told me you had a letter from Wakanda, so how about you read these, and I'll read that."

"No murder, Miss Potts."

"No promises, Mister Stark."

They swap, the letter for the tablet.

Tony looks at the requests and immediately dismisses one. They don't outright request Iron Man suits, but the parameters are phrased in such a way that if Tony were to promise to fulfill it, he would be forced to make Iron Man suits for the U.S. Navy Seals. A small part of him almost wants to do it to see if they do more or less damage than Rogers and Co., but he won't. Still he'll call Admiral Mayweather and see if they can't work something else out. Tony can probably alter the Falc-

"That motherfucker!" Pepper yells.

Tony smiles. He can't help it. Pepper is normally so poised and calm, and here she is cursing with fluency that would match Admiral Mayweather. 

~*~

A few weeks go by before the letter is mentioned again. In fact, it's Tony's first night back in the penthouse when Pepper mentions it, "I wrote a response to Rogers. You can read it before I send it, but he's hearing what I have to say if I have to go to the Wakandan Palace and read it to him."

Tony shakes his head, and says, "Gimme. This'll be better than anything on my bookshelf."

She hands it to him, and he can tell that she's followed his own thought process. She's used her own stationary, the kind they had picked out during her first year as his PA, the kind she used to say was too expensive. It's a heavy cream that Stane complained was too antiquated for the company, and the fountain pen she used was a beautiful deep sapphire. 

"I don't know if Rogers will be able to read your handwriting," he says, referring to the eloquent caligraphy. Tony's "fancy" handwriting is the result of the standard "rich kid" education, but Pepper's came from a genuine love of the art of penmanship. So while Tony's handwriting is sufficiently snotty, Pepper's is full of additional, artful swoops and swirls.

"He's clearly illiterate anyway, so it won't matter."

Tony laughs and sets to reading:

_Mister Rogers,_

_While your concern regarding Tony's well-being is noted, it is uneccessary. I assure you that, as his fiancee and future wife, his health and safety is my priority. I will do my utmost to prevent anyone whose intentions are in opposition to Tony's best interests from entering our lives and our home again._

_Colonel Rhodes's injuries are private information. They can not legally be disclosed without his consent. If Sergeant Wilson is concerned with the state of Colonel Rhodes's health, he should ask directly._

_If your definition of family includes people who assault your children, destroy your property, and beat and batter you before leaving you with no way of calling for assistance, you need to look in a different dictionary. That behavior is not care. It is abuse. Think on that fact before you do anything else. If you need help, FRIDAY has catalogued a list of instances of your "care" from both her servers and JARVIS' recordings. I will happily forward a copy to you upon request._

_Given the countless meetings I have attended at Tony's side, let me assure you that there are numerous times when he has not only listened to contrary opinions and ideas, but compromised with or even been persuaded by them entirely. As evidence, I encourage you to watch the debate from Bern 2003 wherein Dr. Susan Storm convinced Tony to completely flip his stance on the impact of solar flares. You may also benefit from reading the emails between Tony, on behalf of Stark Industries, and various branches of the U.S. government, which were leaked in the Info Dump of 2014. They will provide you with a stong frame of reference regarding how far he is and is not prepared to bend._

_Regarding Ms. Maximoff, stating something does not make it true. Given that there is proof she willingly joined a known terrorist organization, it is wise that her "change of heart" be closely inspected. Since then, her actions have not shown any true remorse. Her lack of willingness to bear any responsibility for the civillian deaths in Lagos alone calls her intentions and goals into question. However, the fact that she threw Vision through multiple floors, then did not even bother to check on him before leaving the country entirely, clearly demonstrates a total disregard for others. What else is she, then, other than a villain?_

_Precisely what do you intend to work on with regards to Tony, Mister Rogers? Do you mean to attempt to impose rules upon him? If so, on what authority do you intend to enforce them?_

_What exactly does Tony have wrong? You had knowledge of a crime, which you concealed, which makes you accessory after the fact. That crime was committed by the terrorist organization Hydra, which means you aided it. By hiding that crime, you let a friend's memory be further tarnished by false accusations, and you let that friend's son blame and hate him._

_It is true that Barnes is arguably no more guilty of what Hydra made him do than the weapons he used. However, that decision is for a court of law to make, not you._

_It is also not for you to decide what Howard Stark would or would not have wanted. You knew him for less than one of his seventy-four years, so the information you have to work with is severely limited. Additionally, you did not know his wife, so you can not truthfully claim any knowledge of how he would have acted regarding her murder._

_Importantly, it certainly is not for you to decide how either Tony or Stark Industries spends his or its funds, regardless of how noble you think your cause or what you think his father would have done. You did not respect his right to decide, however. Instead, you lied to him, and he provided you with funding and resources based on those lies._

_Tony owes you nothing, Mr. Rogers. He certainly owes you no forgiveness. Given your apology, even if he did, you would not deserve it. After all, you have yet to express a single regret for an action you took. You have only said you wish that the results were different._

_I will not attempt to debate the Accords with you. I will however, address your other claims._

_First, I assure you that nobody has ever claimed that Howard and Maria allowed Tony to grow up without rules. In fact, Stane frequently blamed the strictness of Tony's upbringing for the wildness of his early adulthood. The rules he grew up with are rather well-documented. Howard's interview with John Stossel for 20/20 goes into remarkable detail of them._

_Second, as an American industrialist, Tony is subject to many laws, rules, and regulations in the design, production, and distribution of his products. He is quite familiar with operating under them. In fact, if you watch the press conference when Tony returned from his captivity in Afghanistan, you will see that he quite clearly expresses remorse of working with so few regulations._

_Third, again, I ask what sort of rules you intend to put in place? On what authority do you intend to enforce them? I'll add, what knowledge do you have to create such rules? How can you ensure such rules will be effective? How do you know they will provide proper regulation and not unneccessary restriction?_

_Ms. Maximoff was not "locked up." She was being asked to stay in the Compound, her home, until both the issues regarding her visa and the matter of Lagos were resolved. However, nobody forced her to stay there. In fact, no physical restraint was ever in place at all during Ms. Maximoff's stay at the Compound._

_Tony is responsible for neither Mr. Barton nor Mr. Lang abanonding their families; he did not involve them with the Accords or the internal feud regarding them. He fully respected Mr. Barton's choice to retire. As for Mr. Lang, Tony was completely unaware of his existance before the altercation at the airport in Leipzig. Given those facts, how is Tony possible at fault for their current situations?_

_You are truly so dismissive of your teammate's concern? Really?_

_If you are waiting on the phone to ring, I suggest you stop. I'm including photos of its mate. The Spiderling was very appreciative of the parts._

_Logic, Mister Rogers,_

_Pepper Potts_

It's probably the most eloquent "fuck you" Tony has ever read. He kisses Pepper right then. They'll send the letter in the morning. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if Pepper is a little out of character here. She felt right to me when I wrote it, but she seemed a little off when I reread it.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry if this seems like a bit of a repeat of Tony's letter. 
> 
> I think Howard was born in 1915, right? If not, I can adjust his age.  
> Scratch that, and thank you to The Sovereign of Reality for telling me it was off a touch. According to the wiki, Howard was born on August 15, 1917. The fic has been updated.


End file.
